Guardian Media Group reports £25m drop in revenue

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Revenues for the Guardian Media Group decreased by almost £25 million in the last financial year, down to £255.1 million from £280 million the previous year.

The group also reported an operating loss of £54.5 million, up from £53.9 million the previous year.

Pre-tax profits meanwhile sat at £9 million, compared to a £171 million loss in the previous year. The previous year's loss

Revenues for Guardian News & Media, the GMG subsidiary that publishes the Guardian and Observer, were also down, as revealed earlier this year as part of the company's digital-first strategy announcement.

GNM's revenues fell from £221 million to £198.2 million in 2010/2011, despite savings of £26.8 million made through restructuring.

According to the report published by GMG, recruitment advertising in particular saw a "sharp decline", cited as a result of the economic climate and cuts to public sector spending.

The company added that while digital revenues continued to grow, they were not doing so at "a sufficient rate to offset the decline in print revenues". Overall GNM recorded an operating loss of £38.3 million.

"Landmark" journalism

In its review the Guardian referred to the past year as "landmark" for GNM and its journalism.

"The Guardian consistently set the news agenda and pushed back the boundaries of conventional reporting. Its pioneering of open, collaborative, mutualised journalism was the driving force behind this success," CEO Andrew Miller says in the report.

He refers specifically to its partnership with Wikileaks and ongoing investigations into the phone-hacking scanda l, as particular highs in its investigative journalism.

In reference to the paywall debate he added that GNM "continues to have an open mind" about online content payment systems but said there is not yet evidence of a model that would work for the Guardian.